


My Wings Won't Be Clipped

by BornToFly02



Series: A Robin By Any Other Name [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Robin, Gender Dysphoria, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genderfluid Character, Protective Wally West, The Flying Graysons - Freeform, Trapeze, Wally West is Kid Flash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:41:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornToFly02/pseuds/BornToFly02
Summary: Robin is expected at the Cave with the rest of the Young Justice team after school on a day where they are feeling particularly uncomfortable in their own skin, but that isn't about to stop them.
Relationships: Artemis Crock & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & The Team (Young Justice), Dick Grayson/Wally West
Series: A Robin By Any Other Name [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905958
Comments: 5
Kudos: 129





	My Wings Won't Be Clipped

Wally and Artemis were arguing, as usual, but this time was a bit different.

"What is so important on that phone?!"

"It is none of your business!"

"It is when it's pinging every two seconds and making you vibrate in your seat while I'm trying to concentrate!"

Wally scowled, checking it one last time before zipping away to drop it off in Robin's room, which always locked automatically.

"There, happy?!"

"No! I want to know what it said!"

"You have no right-!"

Robin B-01

The announcement silenced Wally, much Artemis' surprise. Almost nothing could get that boy to shut up and usually the archer would be questioning him but the scene that followed stopped her in her tracks.

The small bird walked in, and immediately into the speedster's arms, burying his face in the older boy's chest. Wally, to his credit, just held onto his boyfriend tightly, knowing that it'd been a hard day. Both boys seemed to completely forget their teammate was in the room.

"You alright?" Wally asked quietly, getting a muffled reply that Artemis couldn't discern. "Yeah, I know. Feel like flying a bit Birdie?"

She saw Robin nod before the pair were gone in a flash of lightning.

"What just happened?"

* * *

Wally held the cape and gloves as he watched Robin put chalk on their hands.

It was almost calming to watch. The aerialist was methodical and he could practically see the tension melting out of the younger teen. After that, it wasn't long until Robin was making their way up to the trapeze using the other gymnastics equipment. Sure, they could've climbed up and swung out like they did in the circus but since leaving, they'd learned a ton of new tricks that allowed for a wider range of movement while on patrol.

Wally smiled up, still awed by the performance despite being a frequent audience to his bird.

Every time felt like he was seeing it for the first time. The way Robin flew so gracefully through the air with a confidence held only by those born to it. Up in the air, there was no gender, no death, no pain. There was only the little bird, fighting against gravity and winning every time.

The speedster knew when Artemis entered the room behind him but chose not to say anything to alert the trapeze artist flying above.

"Jesus." the archer breathed, grey eyes following the graceful arches of the lithe body through the air.

"Just enjoy the show, they need it right now." Wally muttered to her quietly, unwilling to disrupt the steady thunk and creak of hands hitting bars and ropes swinging.

Up in the air, Robin felt the first genuine smile of the day spread across their face. All the hurtful words thrown at them throughout the day seemed to fall away, dragged down by the gravity they rejected.

It was hard enough to get their peers used to the switch between male and female (even though they rarely cared to listen) let alone try to explain the days they didn't feel like either. They had gone to school with a little eyeliner, some slightly shimmering nail polish, and their silver bracelet. This was not well received by their classmates. They'd felt so comfortable in their choices that morning when leaving the manor but it'd been all down hill from there.

As a child, their gender flowed easily. When people coming to the circus questioned it, they started wearing clothes that were clearly boy or girl. They did their best to ignore the days they felt like neither, pushing it one way or the other. It was only over the past several months that they realized that they didn't have to do that. On days where they didn't feel like either, they just wore whatever they wanted, sometimes even wearing both their bracelets, one on each wrist.

Now, after a long day of discrimination and hatred, it was a relief to be in the air, Wally waiting below.

They continued until their arms started feeling shaky and sweat was gathering on their forehead from the strain.

Dismounting easily, they walked back to their speedster at a sedate pace.

"Better?" Wally asked, holding out a towel.

"Much."

"Good."

Robin accepted the towel even as they continued walking right into Wally's arms.

They felt the vibrations in the redhead's chest as the older chuckled.

Artemis stood awkwardly to the side. She had known that the pair were close but not that close. It made her question Baywatch's frequent flirtations with her and Megan. After several moments passed in silence, she decided to speak up.

"That was amazing, Robin. I've never seen anything like it."

The little bird jolted slightly, pulling away from their metahuman teddy bear, face slightly red though she couldn't tell if it was from exertion or embarrassment.

"Thanks."

"Hey, I think Megan was talking about making some cookies earlier. I'm sure you built up an appetite after all that." she suggested, inwardly cringing at herself.

Sure she saw Robin as a sort of little brother to her but she didn't... emotions... often. Sure she argued with Wally and occasionally joked with their youngest member but kindness was not something she was used to expressing, at least not outwardly.

The raven haired teen hesitated before smiling.

"Sounds good, coming Wally?"

"Heck yeah! You know I'll never say no to food."

Artemis narrowed her eyes at the pair. Wally's response was enthusiastic as always but usually he would've butted in immediately at the mention of food, this time he'd waited for Robin to respond first.

* * *

Arriving back at the kitchen, Robin and Wally stayed glued to each other's sides as Megan greeted them in her usual chipper fashion.

"You're just in time! I think I got the cookies right this time."

Sure enough, while still rather singed, the cookies cooling on the counter looked more like cookie than charcoal, a marked improvement from the Martian's previous attempts.

"They look delicious Megan." Robin smiled.

The little bird swayed forward a bit in a visual indication of their excitement. It was something they got into the habit of doing when they started spending time with other people while wearing the mask. Usually, they were able to easily convey their emotions through their bright blue eyes but with the mask they had to find a way to still get the message across without revealing their identity.

"Thank you! I really hope they taste okay."

"Your cooking is always awesome, babe." Wally grinned, drawing a snicker from his significant other.

"Ugh, could you stop with the bad flirting?" Artemis groaned as she entered with Connor and Kaldur in tow.

"No can do, not with such beauty in front of me."

"Alright, calm down, Kid Idiot." Robin said, dragging the speedster over to the table and pushing him into a seat.

"I do look forward to tasting this batch of cookies." Kaldur cut in.

Connor didn't say anything as he sat as well but the clone looked less angry than usual.

As the team enjoyed their treats, Artemis wasn't the only one to notice Robin's abnormal behaviour. The Boy Wonder was sticking closer to Wally than usual and small glances between the rest of the teammates confirmed that they'd all noticed. Robin was definitely the most secretive of the bunch but somehow managed to be the little sibling to most of them.

They all silently agreed not to say anything. If he came to them with anything, they would be there in a heartbeat, but until then they'd leave well enough alone.

* * *

At the end of the day, Wally took the Zeta Tube to Central before running all the way to Gotham.

It was easy to climb up to Robin's balcony, he'd done so many times before. Bruce and Alfred were well aware of his arrival, as they were every time the speedster came to visit. Dee was the name Wally used for his significant other on gender neutral days so as he knocked lightly at the glass paned door, that was the name he called. He didn't even have to wait for a response, they had already unlocked the door to grant him easy access.

Dee was lying on the large bed and smiled easily when they saw their boyfriend.

"Hey Walls."

"Hey. So, end of the day better than the rest?"

Wally climbed onto the bed and gently pulled the smaller teen towards him. Dee rested their head on his chest with a sigh, any lingering tension seeping out of them.

"You know it was."

The pair were thirteen and fifteen. Not too young to date despite what some people may think, but still young enough that when they ended up in the same bed, it was just for sleep. They'd slept in the same bed for years, whenever they had sleepovers ever since they first met, they just shared the bed. There wasn't anything untoward about it, at this point it was a comfort for both of them. 

These harder days would come and go, but Wally could smile as he remembered his little bird flying through the air.

No matter how bad it got, those wings would never be clipped.


End file.
